Let the Light Shine!

Today is a beautiful fall day, but my heart is ready for Christmas. I am not ready for the cold outside, but I am all set for a little faux snow, like I put on this lantern.

The lantern began as a plain, black lantern I found at a big box store for less than $20. I love that it has a battery-operated candle that screws to the base and can be turned on and off from the base. It was the perfect blank slate to transform!

I started by removing the glass panels so they could be etched. Then I added a bit of Distress Paint to the filigree on the top of the lantern and to the latch that holds the front door closed.

Then, I coated the ledges with Art Glitter Vintage Glass Glitter.

I cleaned each of the glass pieces with water and a paper towel (do not use Windex) and then added stickers from Elizabeth Craft Designs. (I should have taped the backside of the glass pieces as well — since the etchall got a bit messy and some of the pieces were etched on the wrong side. You cannot easily see the mistakes in the finished lantern, but I thought I should pass along my lesson learned!)

Next, I coated each piece with etchall. (it gets brown as you use it, but it still works well) and let it sit for 15 minutes. Then, I scraped off the excess and put it back in the jar and rinsed off each panel.